Most research focuses on practices similar to NSDR, including yoga nidra, meditation, and body scan (a mindfulness exercise that involves scanning the body for pain, stiffness, or other sensations). Because NSDR is a relatively new term that rarely appears in clinical research, findings from these related practices provide the best available evidence. “NSDR is more of an umbrella term, but yoga nidra and meditation studies are, more or less, the strongest quantitative evidence in the field,” says Fisher. Research on these techniques suggests NSDR may offer several benefits.
May Reduce Stress
The body’s built-in alarm system (the stress response) helps you respond to real-life threats. It releases stress hormones that increase heart and breathing rate and sharpen focus. It can misfire, though, when daily hassles, ongoing worry, or past trauma keep it switched on too often or too long.
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“I liken it to a car alarm that is going off even though no one is actually trying to steal the car,” says Jessica Fink, LCSW-S, a licensed clinical social worker supervisor and sleep specialist in Austin, Texas, who treats insomnia.That’s where NSDR can help calm things down. Research suggests that NSDR practices such as yoga nidra can ease the stress response by promoting healthier patterns of cortisol (the stress hormone). In one study of 362 adults, those who performed yoga nidra for 30 minutes more frequently experienced lower levels of cortisol by the end of the study period (measured across two months).
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This kind of guided relaxation fits squarely under the NSDR umbrella and can be a practical way to relieve stress, says Fink.
May Improve Cognitive Function and Learning
Brief periods of wakeful rest that incorporate stillness, slow breathing, and undistracted attention can help new information stick, says Fisher. In one experiment, people who used wakeful rest for about 10 minutes after studying remembered more later than those who jumped straight into another task.
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Rest can also help the brain sort important details from mental noise so later recall comes easier. That’s similar to how sleep strengthens memories, just in a lighter, awake form, says Fisher.
May Support Sleep
NSDR practices such as yoga nidra encourage slow breathing and muscle relaxation, which signal to your body that it’s safe to rest. With regular practice, you can teach your body to intentionally switch from an alert state to a restful state, making it easier to quiet racing thoughts and drift off to sleep.
In a small trial comparing yoga nidra to cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), both improved sleep quality, efficiency, and total sleep time in people with chronic insomnia. But the yoga nidra group also fell asleep more quickly and spent more time in deep sleep, which supports memory, cognitive function, and physical recovery.
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While these findings are promising, Christina S. McCrae, PhD, a clinical psychologist and the director of the McCrae Sleep Research Lab at the University of South Florida in Tampa, notes that the study was short and included only 41 people. Larger, longer-term studies are needed to assess whether NSDR can improve sleep. In the meantime, chronic behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) remains the gold-standard treatment for chronic insomnia.
May Provide Emotional and Mental Health Benefits
Slow breathing, body scanning, and guided attention during NSDR help lower arousal, creating space to notice negative feelings without getting swept up in them. That pause can reduce rumination (dwelling on negative thoughts and emotions) and make difficult emotions easier to handle, so you can respond more calmly in the moment.
Early evidence supports this. In a four-week trial, healthcare workers who practiced yoga nidra reported less stress, anxiety, and depression, and higher overall well-being than those who listened to relaxing music.
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This kind of guided rest is an effective way to build emotion-regulation skills, though research is still in the early stages, says Fink.
